This section has been written to keep certain interested parties up to date on the progress of the database application I am working on.
At the
moment provisionally entitled "Cellbase" it aims to be a lightweight web-based database application. Currently I am writing it as if it will be used
in the Cellular industry. Given enough flexibility it could probably be used anywhere.
I initially started working on this, although not in its current incarnation, after my last job. There the project team were desperately short of a reliable database program, having instead to trust in a single, shared, large vendor spreadsheet. More than once the entire single-file database had to be resurrected from backup.
Cellbase has been written using only GPL software. Specific components are listed here in no particular order; PostgreSQL is the backend server. The interface is obviously through a browser and the database connection is achieved using PHP3. The whole lot currently sits on a SuSE Linux box running Apache. The server only works in this environment at the moment but I suppose if you were really stuck or having a run of bad luck, it would probably be possible to port to that other mass-market operating system. Of course the client browser will work anywhere which I guess it serves to highlight one of the good things about the web, even OS software giants can still have a part to play. (Someone I know would probably put it like this, "The sun can shine even on a dogs arse...")
The software if and when ready will be released under GPL itself. It is still a long way from finished yet and is really only fit to test concepts. If you would like to make suggestions please feel free to contact me. I am especially interested in hearing from people in the industry regarding their database requirements. Because my background is primarily RF, Cellbase is perhaps, a little inclined toward the technical.
Displayed below are a couple of screenshots showing Cellbase running. In sequence the images depict 3 of the 5 interaction screens where tabled data can be either added, edited and viewed. The graph functions are proving a bit buggy at the moment so I've left them out and the delete screen is trivial. On loading a table set the mainframe view defaults to a raw data display.
 |
Cell level data "View" screen |
 |
Candidate raw data table display screen |
 |
Site level data "Edit" screen |
 |
Personnel data "Add" screen |